Highlighted this week: 

  1.  WriteFest 2020 
  2. Transmission’ Event | Tuesday 17 November | 1630 – 1800 GMT
  3. The Professionalism of Research Supervision| Monday 23 November | 1245 – 1400 GMT 
  4. New video resources from the Library Support Team 
  5. Supervisor Development Course 
  6. Sheffield Hallam Student Union PostgradResearch Student Society (SHSU PRSS) 
  7. In Conversation with Postgrads

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 1.WriteFest 2020 | Throughout November 

As we go into Week 3 of WriteFest there are lots of opportunities for you to get involved and celebrate academic writing.   

You can participate as much or as little as you’d like in a number of different ways – from workshops on specific aspects of writing and publishing to less formal café conversations about academic writing. 

This is the third year that SHU Doctoral School has taken part in WriteFest, working with colleagues in partner universities: Bath, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, Keele, Liverpool, Manchester and the University of Sheffield.  The initiative focuses on:  

  • Habits – developing good writing practices and strategies 
  • Blocks – overcome blocks, proactive approach 
  • Protect academic writing as part of the working day 
  • Social – spend some time out writing with others 

You can see the calendar of events on the WriteFest pages on the Doctoral School Blog site and follow our Twitter feed @SHUDocSchool. 

There are also lots of resources that you can browse through at your own pace, via the WriteFest resources page  

The Journal of Imaginary Research is now accepting submissions of new short fictional pieces for their annual volume produced each November to celebrate Academic Writing Month.  A key aim of the journal/zine is to encourage academic colleagues to embrace writing simply for enjoyment, as an act of care, or as a reflective act.  It is also hoped that reading and writing the imagined works, will bring an enjoyable diversion into your work lives.  You can find further information on the Doctoral School Blog post Journal of Imaginary Research   

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2.‘Transmission’ Event  |  Tuesday 17 November | 1630 – 1800 GMT 

Speaker:  Michelle Atherton 

Host:  Rose Butler   | Respondent:  Becky Shaw 

 “From a conversation in 2019 between anthropologist and anarchist David Graeber and archaeologist David Wengrow:  ‘neuroscientists currently believe that self-consciousness really only lasts for about seven seconds in human beings […] a short window of consciousness where you reflect on yourself and after that you are on a soft of autopilot, like elaborate sleepwalkers.  The exception to this rule is when you are talking to someone else, when you are in dialogue, which is why you imagine you are talking to someone when you are thinking through a question […]  This is why most ancient philosophies began through conversations’. 

Michelle Atherton’s project The Repository of Irrational Gestures opens a conversation with Becky Shaw on shared interests in film, collage, broken narratives, imaginary archives, animation and material processes. 

Check your email for the zoom link.

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 3.The Professionalism of ResearchSupervision | Monday 23 November | 1245 – 1400 GMT 

 The UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) in cooperation with the PRIDE network is running a free webinar on The Professionalism of Research Supervision on Monday 23 November 1245-1400 GMT. The webinar will: 

 Consider professionalisation and the need for research supervisor recognition. 

  • Look at the UKCGE Good Supervisory Practice Framework. 
  • Outline the UKCGE supervisor recognition programme.  

 To register, please go to: https://pride-network.eu/events/ukcge-pride-11232020/ 

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 4. New video resources from the Library Support Team

The Library Research Support Team have recently produced video resources which cover the following topics: 

These might be of interest to doctoral students and academic researchers. 

Presentation slides and links have now been added to the Further Support tab of the Remote Research guide on the Library site 

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5. Doctoral Supervisor Development Course – November 2020 cohort

The November iteration of the Supervisor Development Course is currently underway.  It is running online 11 November to 2 December.  There are further opportunities to join the course in January and April 2021. 

If you are a member of SHU staff interested in requesting a place on the Supervisor Development Course, please fill out the expression of interest form via https://forms.gle/kbs5bkpoHaipaE2M6  

New SHU academic staff joining the Hallam Academic Programme/Hallam Academic Apprenticeship in January 2021 will be able to complete the Supervisor Development Course in May 2021 as part of the Research Advanced CPD module.  

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6.Sheffield Hallam Student Union Postgrad Research Student Society (SHSU PRSS) 

A new Sheffield Hallam Student Union Postgrad Research Student Society (SHSU PRSS) Committee has been elected.  The Committee would like to thank outgoing committee members Ruth Squire and Sophie Negus for their relentless enthusiasm, hard work and dedication to the society.  

If you would like to learn more about the society please see: hallamstudentsunion.com/soc/prss/ 

One forthcoming event that might be of interest is the Virtual Pub Quiz on Friday 20 November 1830-2130 GMT with 4 rounds to join in and a prize up for grabs for each member of the winning team. Tickets are free and you can get the Zoom link by joining the society at the link above. 

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 7.In Conversation with Postgrads

In Conversation with Postgrads is a podcast for postgrad students and early career researchers (ECRs) to discuss their theses, research, and everything else.  You can follow the initiative on Twitter @PGradPodcast.  As part of the initiative, Rose Hilton, SHU PhD candidate/ Associate Lecturer, will be talking about 18th century female playwrights and organising conferences in a pandemic at 1900 GMT on 24 November.  

 To support Rose, you can sign up to receive the zoom link

 If you are interested in this presenting a podcast about your research please email: inconvo.postgrads@gmail.com 

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If you would like to share any good news stories, highlight any events that might be of interest to the SHU PGR community or wish to request any specific development sessions that would appeal to cross-disciplinary PGR students or supervisors, please get in touch via doctoralschool@shu.ac.uk  We’re always pleased to hear from you. 

You can find upcoming events in the doctoral school calendar (including the weekly PGR Focus Thursday and PGR Virtual Café events) https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/doctoralschool/events/ 

We really need to look after our physical and mental health and each other. Please stay connected. You can find help and information about supporting your wellbeing via the University website on https://www.shu.ac.uk/wellbeing 

Best wishes, 

Nicola, Elizabeth and Liz